394 Of EleClion. r'V'J'o Yet further, in the fourth place, obferve, That a Promife of S11ccef]ion to BooK V, their Chitdrtn as the continue« of this Church is here meant. · ~ For firft, It is this way of Succeiiion by Children which he maketh exprefs mention of here in this Difcourfe; neither doth he mention any other. So ver[e t6, [if the root be ho!y,{o artthe brmtches] fpeal1ing of the Fathers and Children ol the Jcwilh Nation, verfe 27. · And fecondly, The Law of Oppofition argues it; for the breakit~g off the Je'IJ!•~ mentioned, is to be underftood of a putting a flop unto, and the not con· tinuing it to them and to their Children; for otherwife their Children are not more broken off to this day, then the Children of us Gentiles are. And then the mtti11g off, .wi~h which he threatens the Romans, in the fame 22th vrrje, Thou alfo (or, mhke manner) jhalt be mt off; muft anfwerably be fo meant. And thon accordingly their fltgrafting alfo muft bg fo intended; for none are capable of being cut off, but thofe who are engrafted on the 1\ock. And Thirdly, Thee11gra{ting in agai11 of the Jews (which he promifeth under the Go{pcl as to come) is promifed to be not in refpetl: of a Sucteiiion iu others, as fuccedanean Profdytes to them, but of their own Children, For the place which he quotes, ver[e 26. out of lfai. 59· 20. bath it rhus: Thu u tny Covmant, that my fPirit and wordjha/J not depart o11t of the mo11th of th:t Seed, mzd of thy .Saris Sad hmceforth for ever. Which words of lfaiah , Patll here briefly !huts up in this Interpretation, A!J Ifraelfba/J be favtd; that is, they and their Pol\erity after them. So as, this kind offucceJiion and con· tinuing a Church, is thegoodtzefl or favour, which he bath in his eye through– out this Difcourfe. And then withal, 5· obferve, That be attributes to the Gentile Churches, the very fame priviledge by theirgrafting;,, which the Jews once bad, and which fhall cne day uke hold ~gain upon them. Which Covenant, verfe 16. he declarestoconftft in this, If the root be holy, thmfo aretht branches, and thereupon immediately in the next verjes fubjoyns concerning the Gen– tiles. r. That they weregrafted in am01tg them, that is, the Jews, (or for them) ver[e t 7· ;. ~,.;;,, for .;,,; .;.,.;;;,, which (as the ~riac.f alfo expounds it) is in loco eorum; in tbe Jews ftead and room; that is, to continue a Church unto tlod, by vertue of the fame Covenant in this refped: which as the Jews before had done: And as he had before pl!nted the Jews to continue, fo now that he had planted the Gentile Churches, and particularly, that of the Romans, And fo in our Margcnt you have it varied, for them, that is, in their fiead, ._, He fays,that they aremade partakers with them, namely with the Jews, ..,r..... ,.l, communitating of a like interefi both of tht root, and of thefattuj! of the Olive Tree. By the root it is plain, he means their Fathers, Abraham, ]Ja:zc, andJacob: forfohehadcalledtbem, verf'e t6, And to be partaker of the R.oot, muft neceffarily be interpreted, by what went afore, namely to partake of this Covenant made with the Jews for their Father's fakes; That if tht root be holy, fo art the 6ra11chts: For that fpeech is fpoken of the Fathers deriving of this Covenant to their Children, hence therefore this is argued to be the priviledge of this Roman Church, to have the fame Covenant that the J«ws had in thele their Roots; the fame that thde theNatura! Brattches once had. And therefore as the Covenant of the Jews was for them and their Chil– dren, becaufe Abraham's Covenant defcended to them (be being their root) fo Abrahambecoming the Root ofus Gentiles alfo,the fame Covenant defcends to us. And fo Thou partakejl, faith he, from thu root the fame Fat?tejS, that is, the fame fpiritual priviledges and promifes made to the Jews, where of this is the main which the fimilitude of fatntfltmports, that branch fhould fpread out of branch, as the Jewi!lJ root and branches had done, fo conveying juice or fatnefs to others, Age •fter Age ; for of a fatuefs, to this ve_ry end, to lj>read it fclf into branches, he chiefly and evidently fp:alu, for tiltS wos that fat11e{s which when he fpeaksof the Jewifh Church he mtended;_this theref~re muft needs be meant of the Fatnefs the Church of the Gent,les d1d plmke m, if they continued to believe. Then
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